Busy Fall

For the first time in a long time, I am sitting still long enough to write a blog post.  I have peeled off three of the six layers I put on this morning in preparation for what I thought would be a very cold trip up the Hudson River.  Surprisingly, it’s warm! Hence the sailor’s sacrifice, giving up wind for warmth.

With most boats having left the mooring field, Gerty had become a magnet for the migrating birds. They leave a mark, making it clear it was time for us to leave for the season.

After a beautiful sail with 20 knots on the beam from Mamaroneck Harbor to Throgs Neck Bridge, the sails had to come down for the trip down the East River to Lady Liberty with wind on the nose and there was no point in putting them up for 1.3 knots on the stern this morning. 

The trip around Manhattan is never really about the sailing anyway. It’s about the sites. This time was notable for 11 helicopters landing on the helipad at once, the usual boat traffic of all sorts, the out of place kayakers and paddle boarders, and of course, the plethora of new skyscrapers and installations going up around the city. It’s a lot to take in, while still remembering to stay out of the way of numerous gigantic tankers and barges. 

We have made it to the Palisades and the trees are not ready to quit showing off their best fall foliage fashion looks just yet. Tomorrow Gerty will go to sleep. Sigh. I like to think of her like a big bear in its den, snuggled up safe all winter long. And in the spring, things will be anew.

So what have we been doing since our last post?  Indeed there were some highlights I would like to jot down. I went to my cousin Phoebe’s wedding (Congrats Jackson & Phoebe!) in Hood River, Oregon with my sister, while Michael changed out Gerty’s old, defunct cowl vents for glamorous and functional new ones. He also sealed a hole in the starboard locker, just to make sure water would not sneak in and get our shoes soggy. 

We made several short weekend trips to Port Washington and Oyster Bay in the cool crisp Fall wind on Long Island Sound.  A favorite shore stop was Planting Fields Arboretum. A vast and beautiful garden with a ridiculously impressive dahlia collection.  

A very special treat was being invited to American Yacht Club by Ray and Joanne Beeler.  Joanne kept us entertained with her tremendous storytelling until we docked at American where we enjoyed the down to earth crowd and dinner in the awesome bar that had walls lined floor to ceiling model sailboat half hulls.

In mid-October, we were drawn inland by our favorite people in the world, Zachary and Joshua. We had a great visit with Zachary in Georgetown on the weekend of the 12th. 

It was great to see our college Senior doing so well and we hit many of our favorite spots, including Tea Sweets for some mint chocolate chip ice-cream.

Then on October 19th, we headed south again to visit Joshua at the University of Delaware.  It was so exciting to see our college Freshman in his element on this beautiful campus and the afternoon trip to Longwood Gardens was jaw-dropping, to say the least.

What fun it is to be a parent when your kids are happy and doing so well!

Did I mention that we were able to squeeze in a trip to the Annapolis Boat Show on our way back from Georgetown? 

We “shopped” till we dropped and had a great time meeting up with friends, touring boats, and checking out all the latest gadgets.  We bit the bullet and purchased spinlock life vests, a cringe-worthy expense, but oh so comfortable (when deflated) and safe!

And I even had a moment of star-struck goofiness when I unexpectedly met Carolyn Shearlock at the Women Who Sail table.  I had been listening to her podcast all summer, so when I heard her voice, I was a bit flummoxed and in response, could not find my own voice and said nothing!  How embarrassing!

The end of this season is so clearly just the beginning that I don’t even feel that sad. The Captain tells me he is working on building a freezer for the fish that we have yet to catch.  Every time he says this we break out into a fit of laughter because to date our fishing skills are THAT bad. I am planning to bedazzle the dinghy so that there is no chance in hell of mistaken identity.  The Love Bug will be theft-proof and gorgeous when I’m through with her. We are both studying for our US Coast Guard Captain’s exam and our favorite thing to talk about is the places we’ll go . . .